A small group of animal activists protested at a Chattanooga Walmart today, arguing that the way Walmart's suppliers raise the pigs that end up as pork on the store's shelves is cruel and abusive.

Coordinated by Los Angeles-based Mercy For Animals, the activists argued that Walmart's pork suppliers abuse pregnant pigs by keeping them in small cages that prevent them from lying down comfortably, turning around or engaging in natural behaviors.

"The hidden cost of Walmart's cheap pork is egregious animal abuse," said Phil Letten, national campaign coordinator, standing in a cold drizzle Tuesday in the Walmart parking lot at 501 Signal Mountain Blvd.